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Rochester Institute of Technology Associate Professor of Public Policy Ron Hira on H-1B visa program that allows foreign high-tech workers to stay and...
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I -- idea of fixing the economy that seems to -- again a little more traction.
Allow more foreign high tech workers to come to the US and a little stagnant.
But Mitt Romney and President Obama have supported the H one B Visa program which allows -- sat.
There's a limit on the number of visas handed out each year in critics of this Visa program including members of congress think we've already given out to many.
One of the leading voices is Ron Hera assist you -- professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
-- just -- people understand an H one B Visa allows.
And -- workers to come work for us on a temporary basis these are high highly skilled they have to have a bachelor's degree.
Problem -- no knows how many of these -- are truly out there right I mean do you have a guests.
While there is nobody actually knows how many you're out there including the government the gas is that there's probably about 650000.
-- so these workers.
In the country.
But I I mean that tells you something how do you know what the impact on the labor market is on the job market if you don't even now have many are here.
-- is we can be using those jobs here in the United States now it seems that that's right India against the most of these H one B visas jumping about 58% go to India.
Yeah that's right and and that's a reflection of of two things one is of -- network effect sets as.
Groups from certain communities tended to news network together but it also coincides with the rise of outsourcing.
There's no coincidence that that India is the major destination for white collar outsourcing and it's rise in white collar outsourcing.
As paralleled in his coupled with the H one B program.
They do actually you know score higher than us in math and science students so there's some -- there.
Which is probably why people like Bill Gates testified before congress to say open the -- bring a mall and I know you've testified on the other side of that right but what's wrong with -- the greatest smartest people on your company.
Yet you always want to have the brightest and smartest people and we wanna have a good immigration system but let's -- and can.
Confuse things the H one B program is a cheap labor program.
Companies are able to bring in.
Really workers with ordinary skills pay them below market wages.
And and their -- to the employer.
These are guest worker visas this is not permanent residents this is not citizenship that there were permanent immigration we're talking about.
Site I think the gates is really misleading what's going on.
And by the way Microsoft contracts out.
A good amount of its work to insist this Tata consultancy and other offshore outsourcing -- -- clearly exploit.
Loopholes in the H one B program so they're directly benefiting from that.
Cheaper labor side effects.
So what yet Mitt Romney President Obama all support this we even had a Harvard economist up on last night who said.
You know what I think it's pretty easy to -- people this is an easy way to get Smart people and move us ahead as united -- of America.
Well we have a lot of Smart people here who are unemployed and underemployed I think what we should be focused on is how to we employ those folks.
And they're offering you kind of a false choice here.
By saying the only way we can get the best and brightest in -- by.
Allowing companies to bring in cheaper.
Ordinary skilled workers that's not true in fact there's bipartisan support.
From a liberal Democrat Dick Durbin in the senate.
Ever conservative Republican and in the senate.
Chuck Grassley that would fix -- -- -- -- -- the program we need to fix it mended not ended.
The promises a lot of people that sit home and say hey these people coming our country they learn all this fabulous stuff.
They have a really good time here in the United States and they take everything they learned back home and that's why unfortunately in many industries where we're suffering a little bit so.
Keeping here and keep all the information here.
-- that's right so that's on the green cards side but many of the companies in fact most of the top employers.
Don't sponsor their their.
Their H one B workers for green cards they're actually shuttling them in and out using the H one B program purely for guest worker purposes for temporary labour mobility.
And it's speeding up the offshoring of jobs.
And so that's on the call knowledge transfer.
I agree that we need to try to keep people here but that's where we need it fixed to green card process.
At the same time the fixing the H one B program and just quickly don't want to inflate and confuse the H one B with green -- I agree that but the -- be right now as a cap 85000 are issued every year we reduce it.
Or increase it at this point.
-- -- I don't think that we should be looking at the cap it all I think what we need to do.
Is we need to raise the wages that are paid to H one B so they're not used for cheaper labor so there's not an incentive for companies to bring in cheaper labor.
And we should give American workers -- first shot at these jobs you know it's like a pretty reasonable thing to do.
Employers including Microsoft to -- those types of sensible reforms.
Tell Iran you know maybe the promise -- education system went up -- -- these Smart techie people maybe that's fodder for another day.
-- -- Rochester Institute of Technology thanks for being here.
Thanks for having me --
